


A Lot to Celebrate

by magician



Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Family, M/M, Seasonal, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-05 10:02:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16808446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magician/pseuds/magician
Summary: Written for the 2018 The Sentinel Secret Santa Extravaganza





	A Lot to Celebrate

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2018 The Sentinel Secret Santa Extravaganza

Jim Ellison was dragging by the time he parked his truck in front of 852 Prospect. He'd spent all day in court, having to wait until almost the end of the day before he was finally called to the stand. He was sure Blair would have made it home before him, and seeing Blair's car parked just down the street confirmed it. As he unlocked the building's front door and checked their mailbox, he could hear Christmas carols. He unfurled his hearing enough to confirm that the music was coming from their apartment, and Blair was singing along. He smiled at that. The chances were good that something delicious would be waiting for him.   
  
With renewed energy, he climbed the stairs, sniffing to get a hint as to what he could expect for dinner. He easily identified roast chicken with rosemary potatoes, a dish they always enjoyed. With no other vegetable smell, he assumed they'd be having a salad. Jim grinned as he caught a whiff of something else; something that smelled of butter and sugar and cinnamon. He opened the door just as the next song started.  
  
"Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the feast of Stephen," Blair sang, joining in with the singers. Not one of Jim's favorite songs. "When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even," Blair continued, looking up as Jim entered and giving him a smile. "Brightly shone the--" Blair stopped at Jim's wince. "Sorry," he apologized, "I have a hard time hitting the high notes." He came over to give Jim a kiss.  
  
"It's not that, Chief," Jim began and then fell silent.  
  
"What?" Jim continued to stay quiet. "C'mon, Jim, I'm not a mind-reader. Tell me what's wrong."  
  
Jim took off his suit jacket and lay it across the couch. He'd already removed his tie and unbuttoned his top shirt button. He gave a one-shouldered shrug. "It's…" He huffed out an impatient breath. "This is just stupid. It brings up old childhood crap because that song reminds me of my brother and... family stuff. Mom named him after St. Stephen. My dad didn't like that and insisted on spelling his name with the V." He sighed. "Just one more thing they fought about."  
  
"I didn't realize your mom was that religious. Were you raised Catholic?"  
  
"Baptized. Once she left, we went to Dad's Lutheran church." Jim sighed again. "She named him because he was born on St. Stephen's Day."  
  
Blair blinked, thought a moment, then his eyes widened. "You mean December 26th? That's the Feast of St. Stephen's, right?" Jim nodded. "Why didn't you say anything?" He looked at Jim, who was studying the cabinets behind Blair's head. "That must has sucked for him, with all the focus on Christmas."  
  
"I guess, although after Mom left, birthdays weren't a big thing for either of us."  
  
Blair sighed, wondering again how the Ellison sons survived such a joyless upbringing. "Well, what's he doing this year? And, for that matter, what's he doing for Christmas?"  
  
"I remind you we're working Christmas."  
  
Blair rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but not all 24 hours. If Steven's around, we can get together. C'mon, give him a call. You know I'll keep bugging you until you do, so get it over with."  
  
Jim gave him a put-upon sigh then picked up the phone and dialed. "Steven, hey. My pain-in-the-ass partner wants to talk to you." He smirked and handed the phone to Blair.  
  
Blair stuck out his tongue, then took the phone. "Hey, bro, how's it going? … Wow, well, congratulations. … Uh-huh. … Yeah, we're all good here. Work is work, ya know? I was just wondering if you had any plans for the holidays. … Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. … Well, listen, we're working Christmas, but it should be slow. And then we're going to Simon's for Kwanzaa on the 26th, which I just happened to find out from your close-mouthed brother is your birthday. … Yeah, that's what he said. So, I was thinking, why don't we get together either one or both days? … Really? … That would be great! I was going to try a roast with all the trimmings. … We're bringing stuff to Simon's and-- Perfect! Okay, let me get a list together and I'll call you back." Blair laughed. "Yeah, I don't have any choice. … Talk to you soon. Bye." He hung up the phone and turned to Jim. "You got all that?"  
  
Jim shrugged, as he looked up from reading the mail. "Most of it. He just found out he's in line for a partnership. Karen's gone with the kids on a Disney cruise to the Bahamas with her parents for Christmas and he was too busy at work to join them so he's alone for the holidays. He'd like to get together with us and volunteered his place to have dinner or whatever, whenever we can get away. He wants to help make the meal and asked for a menu. If you're sure Simon wouldn't mind, he'd like to come and wants to know what to bring." Jim smiled smugly. "Did I miss anything?"  
  
Blair rolled his eyes. "Just that he wasn't surprised that you never told me about his birthday but, in your defense, you all never really celebrated birthdays." Jim gave him an "I told you so" look. "Well, since you know what I think of your dad's parenting skills, I'm not going to dignify that with a response. You should have told me, but I guess I could have asked. So, I'm going to tell Simon that it's Steven's birthday, so we can also include it in the celebration. What's his favorite cake?"  
  
Jim thought a moment, the shook his head. "I don't know, but whenever we go out to eat, he always orders ice cream for dessert."  
  
"Cool, we'll get him an ice cream cake. What flavor?" When Jim didn't answer, Blair looked at him. "What?"  
  
"You know, I wish I'd had someone like you as a father," Jim said softly. "I know--I _know_ \--that what I went through is part of who I am and helped make me stronger. But…"  
  
Blair walked up to him and rubbed his hand up and down Jim's arm. "But it would have been a lot easier and left you with less baggage if things had been different." Jim nodded, looking a little… ashamed. "You know, you don't have to feel guilty wishing things had been better, even though you know you've had a much better life than many other people in the world. It's okay to wish that things had been more fun and… and your life would have been a lot more satisfying if you'd had a parent who believed in you and supported you. And it's okay that you get pissed at what your dad when you were growing up, even though you realize _now_ that he was a single parent at a time when he had no real blueprint for how to do it."  
  
Blair pulled Jim into a strong embrace, then took him over to the couch, where they sat. He picked up Jim's hand in both of his. "We can't re-write history, but we can mitigate the damage."  
  
"We do, already, sweetheart. _You_ do."  
  
Blair nodded. "We do it… together. And something that we're going to do this season is celebrate every way we can. That means taking the time to be with our friends, like going to Simon's party, and volunteering at the hospital with the rest of the PD to make the kids' holidays better and gathering Steven in and giving him the kind of celebration he should have had when you were kids. What do you say?"  
  
Jim leaned over to give Blair a passionate kiss, one he hoped transmitted all the love he felt for him. When they finally broke for air, he said, "Butter Pecan."  
  
Blair gave him a dazed look, both from the kiss and the non sequitur. Then the penny dropped. "Oh, the ice cream cake! That sounds great. I'll order it and drop it at Simon's place, so we'll be ready. What kind of presents should we get him? Ties are kind of boring, although he needs them a lot in his job. Maybe a watch, to celebrate his partnership?"  
  
Jim collapsed back on the couch, tipping his head up to stare at the ceiling. "Give me a day or two to think about it, Chief."  
  
"Oh, right, right. You came home looking whipped and I'll bet you're starving. Why don't we eat and then we can talk… or other things," his voice turning sultry with the last phrase.  
  
Jim smirked, "As long as other things include whatever you baked this afternoon. It smelled decadent."  
  
Blair pulled him in for one more kiss, before getting up to head for the kitchen. "That can be arranged. We might even risk some crumbs in the bed by having dessert upstairs." He waggled his eyebrows and grinned.  
  
"Mm," Jim said as he followed Blair into the kitchen, giving his butt a tweak. "Perhaps we should start with dessert?" They laughed as they set the table for dinner.


End file.
